PvP and party-vs-party combat

Like every MMORPG, Lineage 2 has a system for fighting between players - PvP (Player vs Player). The first part of this article explains how PvP differs from PK and how arenas work; the second covers how to act in party fights against other players. Party roles are described in detail in Party leveling: party roles - it is worth reading first.

PvP and PK

Lineage 2 has two "kinds" of fights between players.

PvP

A prearranged or random fight. To hit a player, hold Ctrl - the cursor turns into a small sword - and click the player, or use a combat skill on them.

• The attacker's name turns purple, meaning they have entered PvP mode. If the attacked player hits back, their name turns purple too.
• Dying in such a fight costs much less experience (around 3-4%, according to the author), but there is a small chance of dropping an item.
• A PvP/PK counter is kept: each kill adds one "frag".

PK (Player Killer)

A PK is essentially an evil that keeps low-level players from leveling. A character becomes a PK by killing a player who did not hit back and did not turn purple.

• Such a kill earns karma points; the killer's name turns red, and Guards and Pixies start hunting them.
• A PK cannot use shops, Gatekeepers or other NPCs.
• A PK who is killed loses a lot of experience and can drop up to 5 items from the inventory; if the inventory is empty, equipped items drop.
• You can also become a PK by killing a pet, such as a Wolf or a Hatchling, but a pet gives less karma.
• Karma is "washed off" by killing monsters or by dying yourself. For reference: after one PK, the author spent 15-20 minutes cleaning karma on monsters.
• PKs also go into the PvP/PK counter. The higher the PK count, the more karma each next kill gives.

Arenas

There are special places for PvP - arenas. There are two of them: in Gludin and in Giran.

• In an arena you do not need to hold Ctrl, your name does not turn purple when you attack, and an "unanswered" kill gives no karma.
• You lose no experience or SP, and the item drop chance is zero.
• An arena has a Peace Zone, where nobody can touch you, and a Combat Zone, where any player can kill you with no consequences.
• Tournaments are also held in arenas.

Beware of PvP baiting

Some players lure others into PvP just to pad their counter - "for show". You are leveling quietly when a "naked" player who is clearly higher level runs up and hits you once. He turns purple; if you hit back, you turn purple too, PvP mode turns on, and in most cases he kills you and adds one to his counter. Do not fall for such tricks. Also, at low levels do not pick fights with mages - without good earrings for magic defense, a mage usually kills a warrior in 2-3 hits.

Party vs Party

Parties fight not only monsters but also other players and parties - for example, in a Clan War. Such fights are rarely disorganized strings of duels: far more often it is mass PvP, a battle of many players against each other.

The party roles stay the same - tanks, supports and damage dealers - but the play style changes radically.

Tanks

Tanks are still "towers", but for a PvP tank what matters is not so much high defense (though it is needed) as skills that let it do as much harm as possible. Dark Avenger, Shillien Knight and Paladin are usually considered PvP tanks.

Dark Avenger:

• Shield Stun - the enemy's worst nightmare: stuns for several seconds. The Paladin has this skill too. A stun is extremely useful in combat - it is not magical sleep that breaks on the first hit.
• Reflect Damage - returns part of the damage to the attacker.
• Summon Dark Panther - summons a dark panther with very decent attack but weak defense.
• Life Drain - ranged damage to the target; 20% of the damage restores health.

Paladin: besides Shield Stun, Sacrifice is useful - it restores a party member's health at the cost of damage to yourself.

Shillien Knight: has no stun, but plenty of other things.

• Sting - causes bleeding that is very hard to cure.
• Drain Energy / Life Leech - ranged attacks; the first restores health by 20% of the damage dealt, the second by 80%.
• Freezing Strike - small damage and a chance to slow the enemy; a ranged attack.
• Poison - poisons the enemy.
• Lightning Strike - paralyzes the enemy for 2 minutes. Luckily for many, it does not land very often.
• Three cubics: Poltergeist Cubic - a personal debuffer that can lower the enemy's attack, defense and attack speed; Vampiric Cubic - uses Life Leech, damaging the enemy and healing its owner for 40% of the damage; Viper Cubic - simply poisons the enemy.
• Thanks to high INT, deals heavy magic damage.

The author does not count the Temple Knight as a PvP tank: it has only one attack skill, and that stops developing at level 15. A TK lives long and can heal, but it can neither stun an enemy nor deal serious damage.

Tips for tanks:

• Tank - but remember that, unlike PvM, Hate is useless here, so you may not be attacked at all. Use this and try to deal as much damage as possible.
• Go into battle in the front row - there is a better chance the enemy attacks you rather than your DDs.
• If possible, try to take out the enemy's support or battle mage. But expect the enemy to try the same.
• If you have a stun, do not save mana: stun, stun and stun again. Because it lacks a stun, the Shillien Knight is considered not a tank in PvP but an armored DD.
• "A good tank always has 2 UDs (Ultimate Defense)." Enemies simply walk around a tank in UD, since attacking it makes little sense (although some prefer to stun it). And "two UDs" because there is a skill with an identical animation but a completely different effect. Such a bluff can help: the tank gets written off for a while - wrongly.

Supports

All the supports described for PvM remain useful in PvP. The support is considered (with good reason) the shortest-lived participant of mass PvP, especially in fights between small parties of 3-5: the enemy tries to kill supports as fast as possible. Besides healing, buffing and resurrecting, a support in PvP is also a sleeper/rooter: Sleep puts an enemy to sleep for 30 seconds but breaks on one hit; Dryad Root binds the target's legs so it cannot move for 30 seconds and does not break.

• Wear light armor for mass PvP: you will live much longer and are unlikely to burn all your mana anyway. A more extreme option is everything for speed, i.e. a set that raises Casting Speed. But then a few hits may be enough to kill you.
• Try to do as much as you can: root the enemy's melee fighters, put everyone you can reach to sleep and heal your own people when possible.
• If you are a Blade Dancer or Swordsinger, work as a DD.

Damage dealers

In mass PvP, melee DDs, archers and mage DDs must be clearly distinguished.

Melee DDs - daggers of all races, Tyrant, Gladiator, Warlord; Destroyer, Blade Dancer and Swordsinger can probably be added too (the Blade Dancer really does deal very decent damage).

• Daggers can use bows at the start of a fight - they have some skills for it.
• Daggers should get behind the enemy by any means: the success rate of their special skills goes up.
• Warlords, use Howl. And be careful with your hits: you can break Sleep on enemies - and on your own people too.
• Better not to engage the enemy's tanks: the fight drags on and the outcome is uncertain.
• If it is not party vs party but many parties vs many, keep a Swordsinger close: you will run fast and crit often. A Blade Dancer is also recommended.

Archers - Silver Ranger, Phantom Ranger, Hawkeye.

• Do not save mana - this is not leveling, use your skills at full power.
• Agree with the other archers in the party to focus one target with powerful volleys (the healer, for example).
• Do not try Stun Shot on Orcs, Dwarves and Human warriors: they have high CON and are hard to stun. Stun mages.
• Kill mages first: they deal heavy damage but have weak defense and HP.
• In a many-vs-many fight, keep a Swordsinger or Blade Dancer close.
• Keep moving - a lot, but carefully. A running target is harder to hit and hard to catch (provided the mages are neutralized - magic does not care about your evasion).
• If a dagger is running at you, do not run: showing him your back means taking a very strong special attack and losing a ton of HP.
• Attack tanks last: they are well protected against arrows.

Mage DDs - Spellsinger, Spellhowler, Sorcerer, and also Necromancer.

• Do not spare crystals on summoning your creatures: they may be weak, but they will be of use.
• Focus your attacks on one target so it dies very quickly.
• Use area spells (for example, the Spellhowler's Tempest).
• Watch the enemy's archers and daggers: if they get close enough to attack you, things will go badly.
• Do not forget mass poison - it is very useful.

Others

• DoTers - same as in PvM: cast those hellish DoTs and enjoy the result. DoTs are best used on enemy tanks: a tank has lots of HP and armor, and to avoid chipping at it forever, its HP needs to be whittled down.
• Debuffers - same as in PvM: debuff the enemy.
• The Overlord is simply made for mass PvP: its mass debuffs and DoTs help a lot. It is hard to level, but fully pays off in mass battles. Take a staff into battle: high M. Atk makes debuffs and DoTs land more often, and a staff counts as a blunt weapon, so you can use Hammer Crush if needed. Ideally have two armor sets: heavy armor to push into the thick of the fight and use your skills, and a robe - specifically a set that raises casting speed. The choice depends on your play style: sometimes casting speed matters more than physical defense, sometimes the other way around.

Party teamwork

• Choose the party leader not by class but by the ability to coordinate. A dead leader on the battlefield is still a leader and may command even more effectively in that state. Another option is to keep the leader out of the fight altogether, on a hill, directing the battle from afar. This is better when the party leader is the clan leader, since the clan leader's death means losing the clan war.
• If the enemy is well known, decide in advance who attacks whom.
• Do not flood the chat. Ideally only the commander talks.
• If you see an enemy approaching a teammate who has not noticed, warn them with a short, clear phrase, for example: "A, B is coming from behind".
• Do not argue - arguments have no place in battle.
• As always, protect the healer - it is still important. It is better to keep the healer away from the main fight so it comes in to heal in "raids".
• Retreat in an organized way, not as a running mob: a disorderly flight means death. Ideally have an Elven Elder with Party Return in the party.

Authors of the original articles: UniX, Adver Doiren